Your favorite legacy stories! (Possible Spoilers)

[happyninja42]

So, not sure if I've made this thread before, if so, sorry, but hey it's at least been several months, so plenty of options for new material.

Legacy stories, I love them, I love the donkey punching shit out of them. For whatever reason, they are the kind of story that opens up my brain, and french tickles the pleasure centers of my brain with a magic wand vibrator.

So, I'd like to see what other legacy stories people like. And, in case someone isn't sure what I mean by a "legacy story", it's the type of story where there is a character, who holds some title, mantle, or power, and by the end of the story, that is passed on to someone else, usually, but not exclusively after the original characters death. This isn't the only example of course, but in general, some form of tradition is maintained by a new person taking up the mantle of a prior generation.

For obvious reasons, this thread has the potential for some major spoilers, so reader beware.

Ok! So, my personal list, off the top of my head, subject to change as more pop in! And in no specific order!

Avatar: The Last Airbender Legacy of a being imbued with the power of all the elements, tasked with maintaining the balance between the nations and the spirit world. The sole survivor of a particular tradition, faced with a massive task to bring balance back to the world, while trying to restore his own culture's tradition. Hell yes did I love this story.

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi You could probably just lump the whole trilogy into this, but for me it's specifically Return that has the most weight. The first two movies are building up to this conflict, and in the end, Luke faces his adversary, and becomes a Jedi, continuing the tradition, while not exactly doing it the same way they did.

The Order : Movie with Heath Ledger in it.

Spoiler

Really dark and disturbing, but it ends with him taking up the mantle of the Sin Eater, because he realizes the work needs to be done. It had a really sad tone to it, but I still enjoyed it a lot.

The Stormlight Archive: Book series by Brandon Sanderson, and, seriously why the fuck haven't you read this yet?!

Spoiler

Ancient legend of an order of champions, gifted with amazing powers, tasked with defending the world from the hordes of evil from beyond the veil of reality. Shamed and cursed by the populace after they abandoned their tasks for unknown reasons. Thousands of years later, people are beginning to rediscover their powers, and take up the mantle of protectors again, despite being the anathema of the world.

The books are huge, and are definitely a slow burn kind of story, but holy shit when they get to the climax in the first book, it pays off massively.

Spiderman:Miles Morales Haven't kept up with the series, but I really loved the original run that was his origin story, and establishment as Spidey. His motivations, drive, everything about why he did what he did, just really felt great to me.

Iron Man: Riri Williams This one is decent so far, though to be fair it's only 3 issues in. Again, I like her motivations for what she's doing, and where it seems like they are going with it. Time will tell if it stays good or not.

And I'm sure there are others, in fact I know there are, but I can't think of them now, so that's it for the time being!

What legacy stories do you enjoy and love?

 

[Qizx]

Lord of the Rings.
Frodo passing the mantel down to Sam to be biggest badass of The Shire. Or in another sense, with the elves/gandalf passing down the reign of Middle Earth to the mortals.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Batman Beyond, though I hate the retcon they did about Terry's father being Bruce.

I am the biggest Max/Terry shipper ever!

 

[Scarim Coral]

Does Jojo's Bizzare Adventure count?

I mean the main characters are from the same bloodline, Joestar! Well ok I read the newer Jojo's are like from an alternative universe but still, the same surname for the most part or for Gio case, within the bloodline.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Beast Wars, obviously. I guess the finale of the original movie and subsequent 3rd season would qualify more, but Optimus Primal did have the ultimate destiny of his people passed down to him by the Covenant of Primus, and eventually passed it on to his protege Cheetor in turn upon his death Becoming One with the All-Spark.

Almost all of Star Wars could be considered a Legacy story to some degree, but The New Jedi Order (and the Young Jedi Knights series if you wanted something a bit less grim) was my favourite major arc in terms of young characters having duties and powers passed down to them as they grow up and trying to live up to the responsibilities. Some of them break, some of them die, but some of them come out shining.

Much like Batman Beyond, which I also loved, an arc in the Batman comics where Bruce Wayne is presumed dead and Dick Grayson takes up the mantle of Batman with Damian Wayne becoming his Robin, a strange inverse where the Robin was actually more serious than the Batman. It didn't last (Status Quo is God), but it could have. In that run, Dick showed most of Gotham's rogues that there really wasn't very much that his old mentor could do that he couldn't just as well, except maybe brood.

Ghosts of the Machine, a fanfic that gave Mega Man X all the transference of Legacy that the games denied to him. In the end, even Dr. Wily has to acknowledge that he has become a greater hero than Rock, albeit at the cost of becoming emotionally dead inside. Most intense final battle I've ever seen in written format.

And while we're on fanfics I actually liked, a shout-out to Yu Gi Oh Forever. Kind of like New Jedi Order in that the descendants of the original cast had to grow into the skill and strength of will needed to defeat a far more malevolent and capable threat than their parents faced... by beating them in Children's Card Games (card games where direct attacks draw blood however).

 

[MrBoBo]

In real life Mary Queen Of Scots.

She had a terrible end and was always after the English Crowd. Her rival Elizabeth 1'st died and the it was immediately passed on to her son James, becoming VI/I of Scotland and England.

What this also meant was that Robert The Bruce's descendant, not Edward I's, ruled England and Britain as a whole.
How's that for irony?

 

[Erttheking]

Does Jojo's Bizzare Adventure count?

I mean the main characters are from the same bloodline, Joestar! Well ok I read the newer Jojo's are like from an alternative universe but still, the same surname for the most part or for Gio case, within the bloodline.

You're goddamn right it does! Each one inherits the title of JoJo. You'll notice that in Diamond is Unbreakable, Joseph and Jotaro are never referred to as JoJo, because Josuke is the one holding the mantle at the moment.